Sunken belly causes

Thomasflynn15 · Dec 30, 2023

I have a 2 year old chalk bass with a sunken belly. It always gets his fair share of food compared to other tankmates, I don't know what the problem is. None of the other inhabitants have it. I googled generic images of the fish to see if it is just how it normally looks, but many chalk bass out there have plump bellies. The last one I had 2 years prior had the same issue and died of unknown causes. Any advice?

MnFish1 · Dec 30, 2023

Thomasflynn15 said:
I have a 2 year old chalk bass with a sunken belly. It always gets his fair share of food compared to other tankmates, I don't know what the problem is. None of the other inhabitants have it. I googled generic images of the fish to see if it is just how it normally looks, but many chalk bass out there have plump bellies. The last one I had 2 years prior had the same issue and died of unknown causes. Any advice?

Let's start with this- I have no clue about chalk bass. However a picture would be nice. Additionally, there are a couple general causes: 1. Not eating enough. 2. Eating a lot but not absorbing the food (parasites?), 3. An internal illness causing increased metabolism (cancer, etc). I'm sure others will weigh in @Jay Hemdal. Additionally - would ask what you're feeding, did you quarantine the fish?

Jay Hemdal · Dec 31, 2023

Yes, what @MnFish1 said. A picture would help. How long have you noticed it’s been thin? Have you tried feeding it more and more often?

Jay

Thomasflynn15 · Dec 31, 2023

Thomasflynn15 · Dec 31, 2023

Hopefully they come out as clear. Like I said he gets his fair share. I feed a variety of calanus, mysis, and capelin eggs. Should I try target feeding?

Jay Hemdal · Dec 31, 2023

Thomasflynn15 said:
Hopefully they come out as clear. Like I said he gets his fair share. I feed a variety of calanus, mysis, and capelin eggs. Should I try target feeding?

Yes - target feed and feed more food, more often. If it is internal worm parasites, you can compensate for those with more food. However, mycobacterium (fish tuberculosis) also causes fish to be chronically thin and there is no treatment for that.

Jay